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Kabul attacks could be an attempt to 'provoke' India: US think tank

February 27, 2010 14:27 IST

The latest Taliban suicide attacks in Kabul that killed up to nine Indians could be an attempt to "provoke" India into some kind of response in Afghanistan, which may "complicate" Pakistan's strategy on the war-torn country, according to a leading US think tank.

The attacks against Indian embassy workers' residences on Friday were the deadliest India has experienced since 2001, Stratfor said in a news analysis.

"By going after a hotel instead of an embassy, the militants in the attacks were able to more quickly and thoroughly penetrate the target, creating more destruction and more deaths, thus provoking Afghanistan, Pakistan and India more strongly," it said.

As Western forces continue operations in southern Afghanistan and the US and Pakistan increasingly appear to be cooperating on how to pursue Taliban forces along the border region, "the Afghan-Taliban group is looking to operate its own levers to show its power," it said.

"This could be an attempt to provoke India into some kind of response in Afghanistan, which would complicate Islamabad's strategy of keeping Afghanistan friendly toward Pakistan and out of India's hands," Stratfor said, while adding that the magnitude of Friday's attacks was unlikely to change the current political calculus.